ENERATIONTHEATRE
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NO EXIT
NOVEMBER 8 - 24, 2024
by Jean-Paul Sartre
translated and directed by David Valayre
PHOENIX THEATER
414 Mason Street
San Francisco
with
Alan Badger
Abhishek Das
Dascha Inciarte
Jane Marx
Is There Room for Comedy in Sartre's Hell?
- I wish you were dead!
- [...] I am!
- Really?... No... What's it like?
Richard Bean, One Man, Two Guvnors, 2011
(based on The Servant of Two Masters, by Goldoni, 1746)
Huis clos (No Exit) has often been performed as a grim, claustrophobic, and rather hopeless comment on human condition. However, the play leaves room for a different, less disheartening interpretation. After their death, three characters, who do not know each other, all guilty of poor life choices, find themselves together, locked in a room. They see their earthly life fading in the distance, and disappearing. They slowly realize that they are condemned to the eternity of a sadomasochistic triangle. Hence the line "L'enfer, c'est les autres" ("Hell is the others.")
No Exit is a dramatic absurdity. Sartre is asking his audience to stretch suspension of disbelief, and accept to be witnesses in a trial, in which the dead try their life and sentence and punish each other. At first sight, not a proposition that will keep the spectators rolling in the aisle with laughter. Now, stop looking at it as chest-beating existentialism of the life-sucks-and-then-you're-dead persuasion, and look at it as a play, the subject of which is, not the emptiness of human condition, but the absurdity of life itself. That same absurdity that gave birth to founding myths: Prometheus's liver being eaten and regenerating itself, for eternity; Sisyphus rolling his boulder up the hill, only to see it roll down again, for eternity. Add the self-deprecating humor of desperate situations -- which is definitely present in Sartre's script -- and you have, maybe not a full-blown comedy, but a ticket to an entertaining evening rather than a prescription for Xanax.
Scene 1 in Huis Clos, a 1954 adaptation of the play for the movie theater.
Scene 1 in Harold Pinter's 1964 production for television.
No Exit and Existentialism
The mid 20th century Existentialist movement, led by Jean Paul Sartre, brings together feelings of post war anxiety and the growth of individualist thought, with radical advancements to psychology and technology of the time. Molded by these destabilizing changes to the global zeitgeist, Existentialism offers a secular description of human existence, and attempts to explain the least desirable aspects of humanity. It is a philosophy built on the notion that life is absurd —lacking inherent meaning— positing that individuals must subjectively create meaning through their decisions and subsequent actions.
cast & crew
Alan BADGER (The Super) is proud to have appeared in GT's productions of Pagnol's Marseille Trilogy (Marius, Fanny and César), as well as Olivia's Kitchen, Tartuffe, The Provoked Wife, and The Marriage of Mademoiselle Beulemans. Favorite roles with other theaters include Noakes in Stoppard's Arcadia, and Lyman in Redwood Curtain.
Abhishek DAS (Garcin) has pursued his passion for theater since his days in college. He has directed and acted in several Bay Area theater productions, and recently appeared in GenerationTheatre's productions of The Marriage of Mademoiselle Beulemans, Olivia's Kitchen, Love and Chance,The Miser, and César, as well as in The Taming of the Schrew. While pursuing his PhD in computer systems at Stanford, he performed in Stanford Drama dept. productions, such as The Castle and Seagull. Abhishek occasionally dabbles in film-making, and has adapted Satyatjit Ray's works into plays.
Dascha INCIARTE (Inès) made her debut with GenerationTheatre as Dorine in Tartuffe. Dascha studied improvisation theater with Daena Giardella in Boston from 1996 to 1998, and performed as part of Wig Kitchen. Much before that she enjoyed playing a townswoman and chorus member in Hello Dolly, a Russian dancer in The Nutcracker, and Tiger Lily in Peter Pan. In addition to Tartuffe, Dascha appeared in GenerationTheatre's Olivia's Kitchen and Sea Turtles. Outside her theater activities, Dascha is a Comparative Literature Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, studies flamenco guitar, is a Spanish court interpreter and social worker, and nurses a secret passion for science.
Jane MARX (Estelle) is making her debut with GenerationTheatre. Jane has had a passion for theater since childhood, where she developed her love for the stage. After taking a long break, she is thrilled to be performing again, and reconnecting with her creative roots. Jane is excited to be part of this production with such talented cast and crew.
Katrina Van WINKLE (Lights) holds a degree in Theater Arts from Sonoma State University. In 1998 Katrina joined Western Stage in Salina, and also worked as the lighting director productions on Norwegian Cruise Line ships. For the past 13 years, Katrina collaborated with numerous theaters and workshops around the Bay Area. Katrina designed the lights for most GenerationTheatre productions and for Morning Star at Sprekels Theatre, in Sonoma County.
Jonathan LOO (Sound) has a background in television broadcast and other interests in film production, photography, and prop design. Although his peers have tried to push him into the limelight of camera & stage, he very much prefers the shadows. He collaborated on science-fiction film Miles From Nowhere, designing costumes, building and managing props, and choreographing fight scenes. He has a passion for the creative process, which he finds equally important as the final product itself.
David VALAYRE (Adaptation / Direction) has been GenerationTheatre´s Artistic Director since its creation, seventeen years ago. With GT, he has directed his own plays (4Soldiers, DiTCH: A Comedy, BooKKeepers, Door to Door, Sea Turtles, Audition), as well as directed, translated and/or adapted works by Shakespeare, Molière, Marivaux, Sir John Vanbrugh, Marcel Pagnol, Jules Romains, and Fonson & Wicheler. As an actor, he has appeared in Fanny, The Provoked Wife, Knock, César, Adieu Monsieur Haffmann, The Miser, A Game of Love and Chance, Olivia’s Kitchen, and The Marriage of Mademoiselle Beulemans. David teaches drama at San Francisco´s International School.
Source: Cinematek